NSW Property Planning Snapshot
Upload your free Spatial Viewer report. Get an instant property planning report in plain English — every applicable SEPP, every overlay, every recent reform factored in.
Pre-purchase buyers, conveyancers, real estate agents and developers running quick feasibility checks before committing serious money.
What is a NSW property planning report?
Every NSW property is governed by a tangled stack of planning instruments: a Local Environmental Plan (LEP), a Development Control Plan (DCP), and a long list of State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs). The free NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer surfaces the data — the land use zone, the Height of Buildings limit, the Floor Space Ratio, the minimum lot size, the heritage notation, the acid sulfate soils class, the foreshore building line, and every SEPP that applies. But it stops at the data.
Our NSW Property Planning Snapshot takes the same Spatial Viewer report and turns it into the answer. What does R2 mean for THIS property? Does the new LMR Stage 1 reform let you build a granny flat? Are you in a TOD precinct with uplifted controls? Is the foreshore building line a deal-breaker? Is the bushfire-prone designation BAL-29 (CDC available) or BAL-FZ (CDC excluded)? The Snapshot gives you the answers for $19, in plain English.
What's included
Each Snapshot covers every planning control that applies to the property, the recent NSW housing reforms that may affect it, and a quick-look estimate of development capacity by typology.
- Zone code + name with plain-English meaning (R2, R3, RU1, E1 etc.)
- Height of Buildings, Floor Space Ratio, minimum lot size — with comparison to the typical for the council
- Heritage status (item, conservation area, vicinity)
- Acid sulfate soils class and what it means for excavation
- Foreshore building line if applicable
- Local Provisions (cl 6.x) that apply to the lot
- Every State Environmental Planning Policy with status — Land Application / Subject Land / Excluded
- LMR Stage 1 cl 166 status — does this override an LEP dual-occupancy prohibition?
- LMR Stage 2 catchment status — within 800m of a nominated centre / station?
- TOD precinct status — within an active Transport Oriented Development precinct?
- In-fill affordable housing bonus eligibility
- Bushfire-prone land category (vegetation / vegetation buffer / nil)
- Quick dwelling-yield estimate based on LEP standards
Why pre-purchase due diligence matters more in NSW now
Since 1 July 2024 the NSW Government's Statement of Expectations Order has fundamentally changed how DAs are assessed. Councils now refuse non-compliant DAs in days — sometimes within 17 days — rather than negotiating amendments. The consequence: planning errors at lodgement become refused DAs at lodgement plus a $4,000+ DA fee that doesn't come back. Pre-purchase due diligence used to be a nice-to-have. Under the SoE Order, it's the difference between a sound investment and a stranded one.
The Spatial Viewer is free. Your Property Snapshot is $19. The cost of getting it wrong runs into the tens of thousands. The maths is obvious.
How it compares to other due diligence options
A planner consultation typically costs $200-$500 and covers 30-60 minutes. A Section 10.7 Planning Certificate from your council runs $50-$150 and gives you the legally authoritative data without analysis. A property valuer doesn't cover planning at all. The Property Snapshot at $19 sits in the gap: instant, comprehensive across every planning instrument, plain-English, and cheap enough to run on every property you're considering.
Worked example: Carlingford R2
10 Keats Street Carlingford — Parramatta LEP 2023, R2 zone, 9m HOB, 0.5:1 FSR, 550 sqm minimum lot. The LEP map says 'Dual Occupancy Development Prohibited' under cl 6.11. A naive read says you can't build a duplex. But the Property Snapshot would identify Housing SEPP cl 166 / Ch 6 (LMR Stage 1, 1 July 2024) — which permits dual occupancy with consent in R2 state-wide, overriding the LEP prohibition. A real DA at this address (DA/240/2025) was approved in April 2026 using exactly this mechanism. The Snapshot would surface this in seconds.
The NSW planning framework
NSW property planning sits across three levels of instrument:
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
The principal planning Act in NSW. s 4.15 sets the matters consent authorities must consider for any DA.
Local Environmental Plan (LEP)
The council-level statutory plan. Sets zones, HOB, FSR, lot size, heritage, and site-specific provisions. Most LEPs use the Standard Instrument (Local Environmental Plans) Order 2006.
Development Control Plan (DCP)
Council-level non-statutory design and development guidance. Setbacks, articulation, materials, parking rates, character. Must be considered but can be departed from on merit.
State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs)
State-wide instruments. Housing SEPP 2021, Codes SEPP 2008 (CDC pathway), Resilience and Hazards SEPP 2021 (coastal / contamination), Industry and Employment SEPP 2021 (signage), Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021 (vegetation).
Statement of Expectations Order 2024
Made under s 9.6(9) of the EP&A Act. Caps DA determination times at 115 days from 1 July 2024, dropping to 85 days by 1 July 2027. Drives the post-2024 'refuse rather than amend' culture.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between the Spatial Viewer and a Section 10.7?
How current is the data?
Will the Snapshot tell me how many dwellings I can build?
What if my proposed development is dual occupancy in R2?
What about the LMR Stage 2 800m catchments?
Are heritage and hazard exclusions caught?
What if my property is rural or has no street address?
Can I use the Snapshot as part of a DA submission?
When will it be available?
$19 — ready when you are
See the full product page for sign-up, bulk packs and additional options.